Government Investigates "Lunging" Issue With Ford Freestyle

WASHINGTON (WWJ) The National Highway Traffic Safety administration has opened an investigation into reports of Ford Freestyle crossovers "lunging" forward unexpectedly. Ford says it is cooperating with the investigation.

The government says there have been 238 complaints, which include 18 crashes and one minor injury. The injury is described as a pedestrian who suffered a bruise to the knee.

Drivers describe the vehicle as starting to move forward on its own at low speeds. Drivers have said the Freestyle stops when they put their foot on the brake, but not before the vehicle has moved forward as much as ten feet on its own.

There are some indications the problem may be worse when the air conditioning was turned on.

The investigation centers around 170 thousand Freestyles, from the 2005 through 2007 model years. The next generation of the Freestyle, called the Taurus-X, is not a part of this investigation. The Taurus-X was eventually discontinued.

The investigation will determine if there is some sort of specific issue that needs to be addressed in Freestyle's. It's too early to tell if this will lead to a recall.